Average Tax Refunds: Connecticut, Nevada and Texas are Highest

Rural states tend to have lower federal tax refunds.

With tax season here, many taxpayers will soon await large federal refunds.

Americans’ average federal refund last year topped more than $2,800, according to the IRS. We thought it might be interesting to also take a quick look at any differences in individual income tax refunds by state.

Connecticut taxpayers recorded an average IRS refund of $3,218, the nation’s highest in 2011. Nevada ($3,192), Texas ($3,112), New Jersey ($3,099), New York ($3,071) and Louisiana ($3,006) also all exceeded the $3,000 mark.

If we factor in those taxpayers not receiving refunds, averages drop a few hundred dollars. By this measure, Nevada registered the highest refund, with an average of $2,651.

The smallest refund checks appear to be delivered to mailboxes in rural states: Montana, Maine, Vermont and North Dakota.

The following table shows federal individual income tax refund statistics, by state, for fiscal year 2011, the most recent state data available from the IRS:

State

Total Tax Returns

Total Refunds

Total refund amount

Average Refund

Average refund for all returns

Montana

472748

371028

$861,552,000

$2,322.07

$1,822.43

Maine

621678

517490

$1,202,504,000

$2,323.72

$1,934.29

Vermont

316281

258790

$603,275,000

$2,331.14

$1,907.40

North Dakota

328299

253895

$610,581,000

$2,404.86

$1,859.83

Oregon

1733500

1383519

$3,376,311,000

$2,440.38

$1,947.68

Wisconsin

2738860

2240878

$5,519,025,000

$2,462.89

$2,015.08

Nebraska

854586

693922

$1,740,243,000

$2,507.84

$2,036.36

Hawaii

651371

528922

$1,338,269,000

$2,530.18

$2,054.54

Minnesota

2553974

2050934

$5,189,983,000

$2,530.55

$2,032.12

Ohio

5431137

4613444

$11,722,192,000

$2,540.88

$2,158.33

Iowa

1394596

1135210

$2,887,415,000

$2,543.51

$2,070.43

South Dakota

392330

313507

$799,313,000

$2,549.59

$2,037.35

West Virginia

780655

676279

$1,725,046,000

$2,550.79

$2,209.74

Idaho

660379

543936

$1,396,696,000

$2,567.76

$2,114.99

Michigan

4589501

3810809

$9,792,568,000

$2,569.68

$2,133.69

Kansas

1305935

1052521

$2,735,544,000

$2,599.04

$2,094.70

New Hampshire

661014

549952

$1,431,314,000

$2,602.62

$2,165.33

South Carolina

2033254

1712531

$4,458,037,000

$2,603.19

$2,192.56

Missouri

2683757

2230687

$5,826,748,000

$2,612.09

$2,171.12

Pennsylvania

6113169

5174301

$13,545,885,000

$2,617.92

$2,215.85

Rhode Island

505797

435332

$1,148,674,000

$2,638.62

$2,271.02

New Mexico

910968

756313

$1,998,489,000

$2,642.41

$2,193.81

Indiana

2974480

2556169

$6,770,852,000

$2,648.83

$2,276.31

North Carolina

4173493

3483018

$9,288,733,000

$2,666.86

$2,225.65

Kentucky

1851772

1597417

$4,261,893,000

$2,667.99

$2,301.52

Delaware

424722

359647

$966,114,000

$2,686.28

$2,274.70

Arkansas

1218547

1030286

$2,791,665,000

$2,709.60

$2,290.98

Alaska

372850

297562

$814,607,000

$2,737.60

$2,184.81

Colorado

2353168

1900738

$5,215,023,000

$2,743.68

$2,216.17

Washington

3156568

2633331

$7,343,081,000

$2,788.51

$2,326.29

Arizona

2693072

2228582

$6,225,903,000

$2,793.66

$2,311.82

Tennessee

2831182

2460429

$6,876,410,000

$2,794.80

$2,428.81

Oklahoma

1580878

1308324

$3,656,954,000

$2,795.14

$2,313.24

Virginia

3713289

3119070

$8,768,042,000

$2,811.11

$2,361.26

Massachusetts

3180907

2592557

$7,301,617,000

$2,816.38

$2,295.45

District of Columbia

320305

268766

$766,905,000

$2,853.43

$2,394.30

Georgia

4386168

3810041

$10,887,475,000

$2,857.57

$2,482.23

Alabama

2079192

1777096

$5,102,922,000

$2,871.49

$2,454.28

Wyoming

275564

228954

$660,175,000

$2,883.44

$2,395.72

Maryland

2774762

2313280

$6,693,504,000

$2,893.51

$2,412.28

Utah

1132471

975580

$2,833,672,000

$2,904.60

$2,502.20

California

16572467

13540352

$39,391,301,000

$2,909.18

$2,376.91

Florida

9508519

8285487

$24,171,516,000

$2,917.33

$2,542.09

Mississippi

1270066

1090765

$3,196,967,000

$2,930.94

$2,517.17

Illinois

6035398

5128075

$15,168,174,000

$2,957.87

$2,513.20

Louisiana

1979224

1686157

$5,068,035,000

$3,005.67

$2,560.62

New York

9243325

7753092

$23,807,424,000

$3,070.70

$2,575.63

New Jersey

4268414

3526260

$10,928,233,000

$3,099.10

$2,560.26

Texas

10902321

9414795

$29,301,928,000

$3,112.33

$2,687.68

Nevada

1257756

1083065

$3,457,612,000

$3,192.43

$2,749.03

Connecticut

1722768

1419287

$4,566,857,000

$3,217.71

$2,650.88

Note: Figures shown are for individual income tax returns only. Fiscal year totals also vary from other published estimates.

It’s hard to draw any conclusions from this data, given all the factors at play.

Verenda Smith, deputy director of the Federation of Tax Administrators, said she suspects refunds stemming from earned income tax credits could account for much of the variation. States with high concentrations of qualifying low-income individuals and families will, in turn, end up with larger average refunds.

Of course, homeowners and taxpayers making large charitable contributions also tend to receive higher refunds. And the yearly figures don’t take into consideration how workers adjusted their withholding tax allowance.

“There are lots of reasons why an individual’s refund will vary from their next-door neighbor,” Smith said.